We are about to introduce an 8-week-old black lab puppy to our family. I work shift-work; my husband works Mon.-Fri. The most the puppy will be left alone will be approximately 9 hours. The days will vary, as it depends on the shift I'm working. The puppy will be 3 months old by the time she has to be alone for that long. What is the best way to prepare her for the separation? Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We don't want to mess up and create a neurotic creature who suffers from separation anxiety. I should also add that we are quite active and the puppy will receive plenty of exercise when we are home.

from experience, seeing we have a 4 and a half month old choc lab pup... i would say by the time your pup is 3 months old.. no matter what you do he will not be able to stay 9 hours straight alone. he wont be able to hold his pee and poo that long and if he isnt in a crate he will be into everything he lays his eyes on. a 12wk old pup would be okay in the kennel for about 6 hours at absolute most, they tend not to pee in their sleeping area. plus at 3 months he still needs 3 meals a day and the weather will still be warm so he will need lots of water.... which means lots of pee. the best thing you could do would be:

2. i would get someone to come in a few times a day to check on him, feed, water, bathroom etc, when you are at work especially since he will be so young.

Our pup will be 6 months in sept 2 of us will be in college and one at work so even then we will have to work our scedules around each other so he isnt left alone for more than a few hours, especially in the heat.. plus he still gets lunch at 6 months

Btw, check out the thread "training" just below this one its got a lot of things in it you might like to know, myself and another lady both own choc lab pups